Annie's Virtual Pre-Grouping, Grouping and BR Layouts & Workbench

[Annie]

Evening Broad Gauge Cheer Up Picture:  (Words shamelessly 'borrowed' from the Broad Gauge Society)  

Vulcan was originally built as a tender engine by Charles Tayleur & Co of Newton-Le-Willows, and delivered on 25th November, 1837. In 1843, she was taken out of service, and disappeared into Swindon Works, where she stayed for three years.

In 1846, she re-entered service as a non-tender engine, now equipped with extended frames supporting a longer wheelbase, a back tank and a positively tiny coal space!

The loco was known to be a regular at Reading, and was also used on the Uxbridge and Henley branches - this pic from 1858 is thought to be at Henley.

 

[Hroth]

Very cheerful 😃 , and a rivet-counters delight!

 

[Oscillation]

From the fantastic late Mike Sharman’s Victorian Railway(1987) video, Vulcan in original condition! 
 

A plan of Vulcan(and other class members!) as delivered, and Vulcan prior to rebuilding is in Broad Gauge Engines of the GWR Part 1!

 

 

Edited July 15, 2022 by Oscillation
Looked through the book and discovered different to what I stated

[Hroth]

2 hours ago, Oscillation said:

From the fantastic late Mike Sharman’s Victorian Railway(1987) video, Vulcan in original condition! 
 

I believe a plan, while not of Vulcan but a very similar class member, is in Broad Gauge Engines of the GWR Part 1? 

 

 

 

As always, if you haven't got it, I recommend Railway Modeller, December 1970 (ebay listing) which has an excellently illustrated article of Mike Sharmans mixed-gauge layout.

 

Front cover!

 

The magazine also has a bit on the Pearson 4-2-4 well tank, an Emett inspired layout and one of CJ Freezers 009 "Rabbit" trackplans too.

 

(Would it be too difficult to make a virtual Rabbit layout in the toy train mode?)

 

:-)

 

 

Edited July 15, 2022 by Hroth
tweak

[Oscillation]

Funnily enough, that locomotive was my previous profile picture! 🤭

 

The very good Early Railways: A Guide For The Modeller, also features plans and pictures from two of Mike’s layouts!(The one mostly featured in the 1987 video and where I believe your image comes from) and another one!

 

The book is fantastic whether you model or not, as it’s a great general guide I feel!

A surprise was to see Mike model the Duplex I believe it was? An Austrian 1860s locomotive considered perhaps the first four cylinder locomotive and not what I expected from Mike!(In a good way! 😉)

 

Such a shame that beautiful LNWR Bloomer wasn’t featured in the video, although then again I saw a few locomotives featured in the book that appeared in sidings or not running in the video! 

[MikeOxon]

5 hours ago, Annie said:

Evening Broad Gauge Cheer Up Picture: 

I describe building a model of 'Aeolus', a sister engine to 'Vulcan' in my blog, starting from https://www.rmweb.co.uk/blogs/entry/25421-creating-a-‘freak’/

 

[Annie]

Today's GWR Cheer Up Pictures:  The wonderful No.13.

 

 

[Compound2632]

44 minutes ago, Annie said:

Today's GWR Cheer Up Pictures:  The wonderful No.13.

 

Coming or going?

 

The 2-4-2ST version suggests that someone had had a bad dream featuring one of Mr Webb's 4' 6" tanks.

 

The 4-4-0ST version looks like a conscious decision not to build an Atlantic tank - wouldn't want to be thought to be copying Mr Adams on the other line!

Edited July 17, 2022 by Compound2632

[Schooner]

18 minutes ago, Compound2632 said:

The 4-4-0PT version looks like...

18 minutes ago, Compound2632 said:

...someone had had a bad dream

 

:)

Edited July 17, 2022 by Schooner
Wrong tanks!

[Annie]

1 hour ago, Compound2632 said:

Coming or going?

Taking into account the Pannier version posted by Schooner I think somebody at Swindon was having too much fun with with what they could find in the spare parts stores.

 

Seriously though No.13 worked on the Looe branch where it did good work owning to the steepness of the gradient up to Liskeard. 

I hadn't seen a picture of the 2-4-2 back tank version of No.13 before and I can only conclude that it was the subject of much experimentation before ending up as a 4-4-0ST.

[Regularity]

6 minutes ago, Annie said:

Seriously though No.13 worked on the Looe branch where it did good work owning to the steepness of the gradient up to Liskeard.

Which wheel arrangement was that? (If both, was one better than the other?)

[Annie]

3 minutes ago, Regularity said:

Which wheel arrangement was that? (If both, was one better than the other?)

It worked as a 4-4-0ST on the Looe branch where it was considered to be a success.  It was worked on the St Ives branch and the Wallington branch as a 2-4-2WT and then after rebuilding worked on the Looe branch as a 4-4-0ST and was also known to have worked at Highworth and Brixham. 

I wouldn't mind a model of either version.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GWR_Dean_experimental_locomotives

[Regularity]

Presumably it worked chimney-first up the grade to Liskeard?

 

I’ve always had a soft spot for the Monmouthshire Railway and Canal 4-4-0T, as used latterly at Abbotsbury and Abingdon. 
(Have to post a link, as the site is not https.)

4-4-0t at Radley

 

Does anyone know if there has ever been a published drawing?

 

[Compound2632]

5 hours ago, Regularity said:

I’ve always had a soft spot for the Monmouthshire Railway and Canal 4-4-0T, as used latterly at Abbotsbury and Abingdon. 
(Have to post a link, as the site is not https.)

4-4-0t at Radley

 

Does anyone know if there has ever been a published drawing?

 

Engines of the class were also used on the Bridport branch:

 

 

http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/b/bridport_west_bay/west(harden1906)bay_old16.jpg

 

Consequently, there is an outline sketch "redrawn from material supplied by Mr I.D. Beale", together with leading dimensions (of the sort less useful to modellers)  in B.L. Jackson and M.J. Tattershall, The Bridport Branch (OPC, 1976)

 

[Annie]

I'm sorely tempted to buy this, but I'm reluctant to end up with something else that turns out to be a disappointment and adds to the clutter in my room.

[Hroth]

4 hours ago, Annie said:

I'm sorely tempted to buy this, but I'm reluctant to end up with something else that turns out to be a disappointment and adds to the clutter in my room.

 

I was tempted once, but unless you've got excellent artistic vision, fine manual motor skills, lots of patience and the willingness to experiment, then you may well end up disappointed.

 

They remind me of a hot glue gun with a finer nozzle, and you'll end up with a mound of cooling plastic that looks like, ummmm...

 

But if its dead cheap, have a go!

 

 

I had a look, UK ebay has such devices starting at under a tenner but I'm still not tempted!

 

Edited July 18, 2022 by Hroth
Added info

[Annie]

39 minutes ago, Hroth said:

 

I was tempted once, but unless you've got excellent artistic vision, fine manual motor skills, lots of patience and the willingness to experiment, then you may well end up disappointed.

 

They remind me of a hot glue gun with a finer nozzle, and you'll end up with a mound of cooling plastic that looks like, ummmm...

 

But if its dead cheap, have a go!

 

I checked some on-line reviews and while it's considered to be a good quality item it's not that cheap and the packets of plastic rod that it eats aren't cheap either.  For someone like me who does micro-sleeps and hasn't got good manual motor skills anymore I think it would be a disaster.  Ten years ago before I got ill, - fair enough, - but now it would end up being a disappointment tossed in a drawer.

A passing temptation best forgotten about.

 

If I really wanted to be creative and do some form of sculpting I'd be much better off with a polymer clay like Sculpey.  

[Hroth]

I've not come across Sculpy, though it sounds rather similar to Das, which I have used.

 

In this case, I used Das for the bridge and retaining wall texture for my 2018 RMweb Cake Box Challenge Under Way  Sadly most of the pics disappeared in the Great Migration, but I found one on this PC.

 

  

Its in O-16.5 and incorporates elements from my Midsomer Brevis narrow-gauge layout.

 

Edited July 18, 2022 by Hroth
Rephrasing

[MikeOxon]

5 hours ago, Annie said:

I'm sorely tempted to buy this, but I'm reluctant to end up with something else that turns out to be a disappointment and adds to the clutter in my room.

 

I bought one of these 3D pens a few months ago.  My idea was to use it make repairs or minor touch-ups to 3D printed models.  I didn't find it very easy to use and I'm not sure what you could do with it as a stand alone device. I've written about it on my blog at https://www.rmweb.co.uk/blogs/entry/25409-bodies-components/ 

 

It's quite tricky to control the flow of filament and it's also necessary to allow the plastic to harden or raised lines simply droop.  No doubt with skill and practice, plus imagination, some interesting things could be created but I've not got there!

 

[Annie]

1 hour ago, Hroth said:

I've not come across Sculpy, though it sounds rather similar to Das, which I have used.

 

In this case, I used Das for the bridge and retaining wall texture for my 2018 RMweb Cake Box Challenge Under Way  Sadly most of the pics disappeared in the Great Migration, but I found one on this PC.

 

  

Its in O-16.5 and incorporates elements from my Midsomer Brevis narrow-gauge layout.

 

Nice tunnel. 

Das is air dry clay and Sculpey is polymer clay that needs to be baked to make it harden.

I used Das to make scenery when I was still doing fantasy wargaming and it was certainly very good for that.  The good thing about polymer clay is that it remains workable until it's been baked.  Before my health packed up I was trying my hand at making colourful jewellery from Sculpey and had moved on to making odds and ends for my large scale models and I was starting to have some success with it.

I used to sculpt my own 28mm fantasy wargaming figures using a two part modelling compound and while I don't think I could manage to do that anymore I had wondered about making larger figures using Sculpey.

 

49 minutes ago, MikeOxon said:

I bought one of these 3D pens a few months ago.  My idea was to use it make repairs or minor touch-ups to 3D printed models.  I didn't find it very easy to use and I'm not sure what you could do with it as a stand alone device. I've written about it on my blog at https://www.rmweb.co.uk/blogs/entry/25409-bodies-components/ 

 

It's quite tricky to control the flow of filament and it's also necessary to allow the plastic to harden or raised lines simply droop.  No doubt with skill and practice, plus imagination, some interesting things could be created but I've not got there!

That was the conclusion I came to Mike.  I could see myself doing nothing else but make myself completely miserable trying to get the pen to work for me.  Some folk might be able to do wonderful things with these pens, but I'm sure I'm not one of them.

Edit: I remember reading your blog and how you used the 3D pen to make modifications to your Broad Gauge cattle van.  Re-reading the blog page again just now very much confirms that a 3D pen is not a simple thing to use despite the manufacturer's hype.

Edited July 18, 2022 by Annie
More words needed.

[MikeOxon]

This video shows what 3D pens can (and can't) do : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIuNVow6QNM

 

[Annie]

40 minutes ago, MikeOxon said:

This video shows what 3D pens can (and can't) do : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIuNVow6QNM

 

Thanks Mike.  It was interesting to see what could be done with a 3D pen, but some of it could have been done with polymer clay with a lot less effort.

[Annie]

Morning Cheer Up Picture:  Picking up the 4-4-0T/4-4-0ST/4-4-0WT theme again here's  N.L.R. No.2649

 

 

Bing made a Gauge 1 live steam N.L.R. tank engine which I've always liked.  Yes it's a typical 'inspired by' version very much in the tinplate toy train mould, but I think it's wonderful.

 

[Annie]

Very Early Morning Cheer Up Picture:   North London Railway No. 37 complete with a selection of railway staff lined up to get their picture took.  I haven't been able to find out any more information about this photo unfortunately.

 

[Compound2632]

It's unusual to have the key in the chimney. There's usually a hole in the side of the tank.